Material handling apparatus



v y 1953 J. A. WICKSTROM 2,842,922

. MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 16. 1952 ASheets-Sheet 1- 'INVENTOR. John A mclnsfr om ATTORNEYS July 15, 1958 v J. A. WICKSTROM 2,842,922

I MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 16, 1952 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q INVENTOR.

Y John A. W/c/(sfr'am IE IE- 5 7 a L July 15, 1958 J. AfwlcKs'rR'om MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 16. 1952 4 Sheets- Sheet 3 INVENTOR. John A. W/c/(sfrvm Wyn-0f flrraAwEs s IE IE- a mo v 64 /o/ July 15, 1958 J. A. WICKSTROM MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 16. 1952 l m mH-Hm-H INVENTOR. John A. Mcksfr'am 1477'0RNEYS United vStates Patent 2,842,922 MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS John A. Wickstrom, San Francisco, Calif., assignor to Mothers Cake & Cookie Co., Oakland, Calif., a corporation of California Application September 16, 1952, Serial No. 309,791

1 Claim. (Cl. 53-235) The present invention relates to material handling apparatus and more particularly to apparatus designed for handling extremely light and fragile articles such as sugar .wafers, in connection with the packaging thereof.

Sugar wafers, which consist of a cream filling baked between two thin sheets of pastry, come from the baking oven in slabs slightly larger than a rectangle the long dimension of which is the long dimension of five rectangular sugar wafers, and the short dimension of which is the short dimension of about eleven of such sugar wafers. They are then trimmed to exactly that size by saws which simultaneously subdivide the slab into small rectangles of the size of the familiar sugar wafer. During this sawing operation, about a half dozen slabs are superimposed upon each other so that after the sawing operation there remains a body of stacked sugar wafers in edge-to-edge relationship. They are very light and fragile and the slightest touch tends to cause them to fall away from the body of wafers, so that extremely careful handling is necessary to keep the body of Wafers together during the several transferring operations incident to packaging them.

Heretofore, a large part, if not all of such handling, has been exclusively manual because of the difficulty of designing machinery capable of handling such material with the degree of care necessitated by its lightness and fragility. The apparatus of the present invention, however, provides for transfer of material such as wafers of the kind described from the sawing machine to the standard inner container, or package-tray, designed for feeding into the wrapping machine, without any manual contact whatever with the wafers themselves. Thus it not only reduces the number of operators required for such packaging operation, but simplifies the problem of maintaining proper sanitary standards in such a food product.

The apparatus of the present invention accomplishes this by the provision of a transfer device for picking up grouped stacks of sugar wafers or the like from the sawing machine and transferring them to a magazine charging device where, together with other stacks of wafers similarly placed therein, they may be grouped and charged into a package-tray loading apparatus from which in turn they are fed one stack at a time into' standard package-trays adapted for introduction into conventional wrapping machinery.

The novel features of the present invention are defined with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment of apparatus embodying the invention when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1- is a perspective view of a transfer device forming a part of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the device of Figure 1, the section being taken on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a magazine charging device forming a part of the present invention, illustrated in conjunction with the transfer device of Figures 1 and 2 so as to show their working relationship;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the maga zine charging device of Figure 3, the section being taken on the line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the magazine charging device of Figure 3; v

Figure 6 is aplan view of package-tray loading appa ratus forming a part of the present invention, illustrated in its operating relationship with the magazine charging device of Figures 3 to 5 inclusive;

Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the packagetray loading apparatus of Figure 6, the section being taken on the line 7 7 of Figure 6 but with the plunger in a more advanced position than that in which it is shown in Figure 6;

Figure ,8 is a detail view in section of a portion of the package-tray loading apparatus of Figure 6; and

Figure 9 is a view in side elevation and partly in section of the package-tray loading apparatus of Figure 6. In the embodiment of the present invention disclosed in the accompanying drawings, the apparatus is shown as applied to the handling of sugar wafers from the stage flin which the slabs in which they are baked are subdivided 11 toform a group of stacks 12, which group in the example illustrated, has a length equal to the longest dimension of five sugar wafers and a width equal to the shortest dimension of eleven such wafers. This group of stacks 12, composed as it is of extremely light and fragile wafers, is apt to be disrupted by the slightest mishandling, and in order to avoid such disruption, the present invention provides a transfer device for the handling of such grouped stacks and their transfer to a magazine charging device,"together with other similar groups of stacks of wafers, preparatory to charging the entire body into package-tray loading apparatus.

This transfer device 15 (Figures 1 and 2) comprises a box l6 dimensioned to loosely embrace a predetermined number of-grouped stacks 11 between its side 17 andv closed end'18. u The top 19 of this box has secured to it afhand le 20 and is provided with an open end 21. Ad-

jacent' the-open end 21 of said box is a member 23 having an angular portion 25 slidably mounted between the top 19 of said'box and a strap 24 secured at its ends to the box top 19 and spaced from the box top 19 intermediate its ends so as to provide a guide for the angularly disposed portion 25.

Means are provided for moving the member 23 from the position in which it is shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 to the position in which it is shown in full lines in that figure. In the dotted-line position it is sufficiently removed from the ends of .the stacked wafers to make it relatively easy to place the box 15 over the group of stacks 12 without risking dislodgtnent of any of the wafers.

rod 33,- the opposite end of which is connected to a" Patented July 15, 1958 flange 34 of the portion 25 of member 23. This arrangement is such that as an incident to grasping the handle 20 for the purpose of moving a grouped stack of wafers the. operator may conveniently move the element 30 from the position in which it is, shown in Figure 1 to the position in which it is shown in Figure 2, thus moving the member 23 from the position in which it is shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 to the position in which it is shown in full lines in said figure.

The transfer device of Figures 1 and 2 is used to transfer the grouped stacks of wafers 12 from the sawing machine to a magazine charging device in the manner illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawing. In this operation the box 15 is placed over a grouped stack of wafers 12 on the conventional grooved board on which they are sawed, the lever 30' is moved from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in Figure 2 to clamp the grouped stack of wafers 12 and the grouped stack of wafers 12 is then slid off of the grooved board onto a fiat, rigid sheet of metal 40, which is preferably provided with an upturned end 41 so that it may be readily grapsed and lifted. The box 15 and sheet 40 with the grouped stack of wafers 12 enclosed, is then grasped as a unit and lifted away from the table top to transfer the grouped stack of wafers 12 to a magazine charging device.

The magazine charging device shown in Figures 3 to 6, inclusive, is adapted to receive a plurality of the groups 12of stacked sugar wafers and to propel the assembled groups into a package-tray loading apparatus illustrated in Figures 6 to 9, inclusive, in the accompanying drawings. The magazine charging device comprises a flat, horizontal, table-like element 45 supported on legs 46 preferably four in number and preferably equipped withcasters or the like (not shown) to facilitate movement of the magazine charging device from a position adjacent the sawing machine to a position adjacent the packagetray loading apparatus. Secured to one edge of the element 45 is a side wall 47 extending some distance above the top surface of the element 45. Means for propelling stacked wafers out of the magazine charging device into the package-tray loading apparatus is provided in the form of a plunger 50 comprising a vertical member 51 secured to a horizontal member 52 which is slidable along the top face of the element 45, together with side reinforcing members 53 and a central member 54 which conveniently serves as a handle for effecting the sliding movement of the plunger 50v along the top of the element 45.

The magazine charging device is loaded by first placing a grouped stack of wafers 12, enclosed within the box 15 of the transfer device by the rigid sheet 40, upon the horizontal table-like member 45 in a position against the side wall 47 and the vertical member 51 of the plunger 50 and then removing the sheet 40. The removal of the transfer device box 15 is then effected by moving the lever 30 of the transfer device from the position in which it is shown in Figure 2 to the position in which it is shown in Figure 1, thus moving the member 23 to the position in which it is shown in Figure 1 and releasing the stacked wafers from its clamping action. Preferably sheet 40 is'held in a vertical position against the side-of box 15 during such removal. After the box 15 is removed from the stack 12 an angular member 47 the height of one of the grouped stacks 12, is placed in the position shown in Figure 3 to retain the first of the grouped stacks 12 in position.

Thereafter, additional grouped stacks 12 of wafers are superimposed upon the first stack in the manner illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings; a separate angular member 47 being used to temporarily retain each in'place. Successive units of grouped stacks 12 are built up one upon another in this manner until the magazine charging device is filled, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 3 of the drawings and as shown in Figure 4 thereof; The magazine charging device is then conveyed to he lo a ion the a s r yl9 dh1 apparat s:-

The package-tray loading apparatus comprises a magazine adapted to receive the superimposed groups of stacked sugar wafers from the magazine charging device. This magazine has a table-like bottom supported on the same horizontal plane with'the bottom 45 of the magazine charging device by four legs 61. One side wall 62 of the magazine extends from end to end of the bottom 60 while the opposite side wall is composed of two sections 63 and 64 having inner ends 65 and 66 defining an opening 67 in this side wall wide enough to admit the charge of superimposed groups of stacked sugar wafers from the magazine charging device into the magazine of the package-tray loading apparatus.

Charging of the magazine is accomplished as illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawing by placing the magazine charging device in the position in which it is shown in Figure 6 with respect to the package-tray loading apparatus, removing the angular temporary retaining members 47 and then operating the plunger 50 of the magazine charging device to move the superimposed groups of stacked wafers in the direction indicated by the arrow 68 to propel the stacked wafers in the direction of their longest dimension, viewed in plan, into the magazine. It will be noted that in this operation the bottom 45 of the magazine charging device abuts the bottom 60 of the magazine to constitute a functionally integral smooth bottom along which the superimposed groups of stacked wafers may be moved in this operation and that the side wall 47 of the magazine charging device abuts the inner edge 66 of the portion 64 of the side wall of the magazine to define a functionally integral smooth side wall for guiding the superimposed groups of stacked wafers in this operation.

The magazine of the package-tray loading apparatus is provided with means to propel the superimposed groups of stacked wafers in the direction of their shortest dimension, viewed in plan, into package trays. This means comprises a plunger 79 slidably mounted upon the bottom 60 of the magazine between the side walls 62 and 63, 64. In the illustrated embodiment the plunger 70 is provided with a bottom member 71, a vertical member 72, and side webs 73 connecting the bottom and side members to reinforce them and to guide against the side walls of the magazine.

Adjacent an operators station 75 at one end of the package tray loading apparatus a package-tray receiver is pivotally mounted so as to be movable by an operator at such station from a horizontal position to a vertical position closing said end of the magazine. This packagetray receiver comprises a rectangular pan 76 fixed to an angular support member 77 which is provided with ears 78 pivotally connected by pins 79 with ears 80 extending from a cross bar 81 fixed to the end of the bottom 60 of the magazine.

The package-tray receiver is adapted to have placed therein a plurality of conventional package-trays 84; five such trays being receivable in the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawing. In the operation of the plunger '70 to be hereinafter described it will be apparent that five vertical columns of stacked wafers will thus be simultaneously pushed in to such package-trays. These package-trays are conventional in the art and consist of lengths of cardboard upturned at their opposite ends but usually open at their sides. They are adapted to receive a charge of stacked wafers equal in height to the length of the package-tray and when so charged they are designed to be manually placed in a conventional wrapping machine which encloses the package-tray and its charge in a wrapper which is usually transparent.

Means are provided for advancing the plunger 70 step by step toward the end of the magazine at which the package-tray receiver is mounted so that stacked wafers in the magazine may be transferred sequentially into package-trays disposed in said receiver while the receiver is held in its vertical position. Preferably this means is operator may actuate the package-tray receiverplunger advancing means. this purpose device or" the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, is provided with a ratchet bar at one end to the plunger 78* and slidable along the tom 6'8 of the magazine. av/ling means for the ratchet bar 85 comprises spaced iiniis 86 connected by a cross bar 87 and pivotally connected 88 with a pair of levers 89 pivotally mounted at 96 on cars 91 extending from a cross bar 92 secured to legs 61. Pivotaily secured to the lower end of the levers 89 are a pair of links 93, the opposite ends of which are secured by a cross rod 94- forming a pivot therefor to a pair of bell-cranks 95 pivotally mounted on the le s 61 at 96; the opposite ends of the bell-cranks 95 being connected together by CTGS) rod 97 constituting a treadle. This linkage ext-ending to the operators station '75 for advancing the plunger step by step is biased by spring 98 tensioned between the pivotal connection between lever 89 and link 93 and the frame of the machine.

This arrangement is such that an operator at the station 75 may first insert the five conventional package-trays 84 in the pan 76 of the receiver while holding the latter in horizontal position and then after moving the receiver to the vertical position to which it is shown in Figure 7, in which it will be noted the lower edge of the pan 76 is sufliciently below the level of the top 60 of the magazine so that movement of the wafers in the magazine will result in their being inserted neatly into the package trays 84, step on the treadle 97 to cause leftward movement of the pawling members 86 and consequent leftward movement of the ratchet bar 85 and plunger 70. Such movement propels the entire body of stacked wafers in the magazine leftward a distance equal to the width of one vertical column of wafers, thus effecting the insertion of five vertical columns of wafers into the five package-trays held in the pan 76. Release of the treadle 97 by the operator then permits the spring 98 to restore the pawling mechanism to the position in which it is shown in Figure 9, moving the cross bar 87 over one of the teeth of ratchet 85 and conditioning the pawling mechanism for a subsequent advancing movement of the plunger 70.

Means are provided for exerting light pressure on the stacks of wafers in the package trays. This is for the purpose of temporarily retaining the five columns of cookies in the five package-trays in the pan 76, and comprises a retaining device in the form of a member 100 hinged at 101 to the member 77 of the package-tray receiver. After the wafers have been inserted as above described in the package-trays 84 the member 180 is moved by the operator from the position in which it is shown in Figure 7 to the position in which it is shown in Figure 8, exerting a slight compression on the columns of wafers in the package trays by its contact with the upturned ends of the package trays. It is held in this position by the operator while the package-tray receiver is lowered away from the magazine of the package-tray loading apparatus as illustrated in Figure 9 and is released only when the package-tray receiver has approached closely enough to its horizontal position so as to insure that inadvertent dislodgment of the wafers in the packagetrays will not occur.

Means are also provided for exerting light pressure on the stacks of wafers at the end of the magazine at which the package-tray receiver is located. This is for the purpose of preventing inadvertent dislodgment of the columns of wafers at the left-hand end of the magazine of the package-tray apparatus, and comprises a removable magazine cover 185 supported on the side walls of the magazine 62 and 63 and aligned by cross bars 106 secured to the top of the cover 105 and having guide holes 107 in their opposite ends which fit over guide pins 108 carried by the side walls 62 and 63 of the magazine. The cover 105 carries a plurality (in the present embodiment, five) of beveled wafer retaining members 169, each of which is spring-pressed downward against the column of wafers immediately underlying it by a spring leaf 136, one end of which is secured to the retaining member and the other end of which is secured to the cover 165. Each of the retaining members 169 thus presses down against the underlying column of wafers and prevents its inadvertent dislodgment during the time when the package-tray receiver is away from its vertical position. Preferably the c "-ver is spaced very slightly from the top of the underlying wafers but not sufficiently to permit their dislodgment from stacked positions.

Reviewing the operation of the apparatus of the present invention, it will be seen that by means of the transfer derice shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, grouped stacks of sugar wafers or the like may be transferred from the sawing machine and superimposed upon each other in the magazine charging device shown in Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 without risk of dislodgment of any of the wafers from the group. Thereafter, the superimposed groups of stacked wafers may be charged from the magazine charging device into the magazine of the package-tray loading apparatus shown in Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9, in the manner indicated in Figure 6, the wafers during this operation being moved in the direction of their longest dimension, viewed in plan. After being charged into the magazine of the package-tray loading apparatus, the charge of wafers may be moved step-bystep into a plurality of package-trays temporarily held in the package-tray receiver, a plurality of trays being simultaneously loaded, since during this operation the wafers are advanced in the direction of their shortest dimension, viewed in plan. After the package-trays have thus been filled, each with a single column of wafers, they are manually removed from the package-tray receiver and transferred to a conventional package-wrapping machine which encloses the package-trays and wafers contained therein in a common wrap.

What is claimed is:

In an apparatus for loading inherently unstable stacks of wafers, the combination of a magazine through which a plurality of such stacks of wafers are adapted to be moved in contiguous mutually stabilizing groups; said magazine having a bottom and side walls closely contacting three perimeters of said groups of Wafers, propolling means including a plate closely contacting one perimeter of said groups of wafers, and an open end at which one perimeter of said groups of Wafers is adapted to be sequentially presented by said propelling means; means adjacent the open end of said magazine for stabilizing the stacks of wafers presented thereat by said propelling means including resilient fingers individual to said stacks of wafers and arranged to lightly compress each of said stacks between themselves and the bottom of said magazine; and a package tray receptacle disposed closely adjacent the open end of said magazine and including a retaining device adjustable to exert a slight compression upon a stack of wafers propelled into package trays contained therein; said receptacle being movable from a position in which its bottom is parallel to the side of a stack of wafers presented at the open end of said magazine to a position in which its bottom is horizontal and said stacks of wafers are gravitationally stabilized therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 326,826 Young Sept. 22, 1885 1,261,065 Smend et a1. Apr. 2, 1918 1,467,019 Tzibides Sept. 4, 1923 1,508,837 Dippel Sept. 16, 1924 1,873,586 Hennell Aug. 23, 1932 2,613,021 Bowes Oct. 7, 1952 

